KARACHI: Pakistan discard Umar Akmal shin­ed with the bat to help Wapda beat HEC by four wickets in their President’s Trophy second-round match here at the National Bank Stadium on Monday.Umar, who had scored 87 runs in the first innings, added 85 more to his match tally in the second as Wapda chased down a 220-run target. He was assisted by Ayaz Tasawwar’s 65 off 125 balls – the knock featuring 10 boundaries.The duo were on the crease at the start of the day with the scorecard reading 114-4 and Umar and Ayaz playing at 61 and eight respectively. They went on to put up a partnership of 98 runs to pull Wapda out of danger with the team having lost their first four wickets for only 99 runs.

Umar, who has featured in 16 Test matches for Pakistan, also hit 10 boun­daries in his 203-ball watchful knock. After the right-hander and Ayaz were dismissed by Aaqib Liaqat, Bismillah Khan finished with match for Wapda with a 22-ball 17.Mohammad Junaid was the best bowler for Wapda with three wickets to his name, while Mohammad Azab picked one scalp.

At the end of second round, Wapda skipper Iftikhar Ahmed is leading the batting chart with 386 runs while his team-mate Asif Afridi sits on top of leading wicket taker’s list having taken 11 wickets.

The third round of the tournament will kick off on December 28.

Scores in brief:

HEC 327-7 in 80 overs (Awais Zafar 178 not out, Mohammad Mohsin Khan 43, Jahanzaib Sultan 20; Iftikhar Ahmed 3-88, Irfanullah Shah 2-67, Naqeeb Masood 1-61, Asif Afridi 1-83) and 283 in 67 overs (Ghazi Ghouri 110, Mohammad Mohsin Khan 60, Awais Zafar 57; Irfanullah Shah 3-39, Iftikhar Ahmed 3-40, Naqeebullah Masood 2-56, Asif Afridi 2-83); WAPDA 391-4 in 80 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 123, Mohammad Saad 102 not out, Umar Akmal 87; Aqib Liaqat 2-124, Mohammad Azab 1-56) and 221-6, 79.2 overs (Umar Akmal 85, Ayaz Tasawar 65; Mohammad Junaid 3-81, Aqib Liaqat 2-35, Mohammad Azab 1-25)

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2023